Few fish have to swim through more red tape than the Pacific halibut. Halibut has been governed by two regulatory bodies for more than 40 years, and 2015 will hopefully see an increase in mutual understanding between the two, as well as a welcome public display of cooperation.

Gov. Bill Walker’s plans for Alaska involve a lot of budget cutting, and a vital research project for king salmon is on the slab. As petroleum prices dive and Alaska finances look grim, the Chinook Salmon Research Initiative is one of many items Walker cut from former Gov. Sean Parnell’s proposed capital budget, potentially halting several ongoing programs and complicating an Alaska fishery regulatory item.

Crab quotas are up this year, but the fleet remains concerned about the fishery outlook as they wait for action from the U.S. government on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. Quota for Bering Sea snow crab, Bristol Bay red king crab and Bering Sea tanner crab all increased for the 2014-15 fisheries compared to the prior year, and the St. Matthew Island section blue king crab fishery will open this year, unlike last.

KENAI — If measured in sheer volume of fish, the Upper Cook Inlet commercial harvest of salmon was low: preliminary Alaska Department of Fish and Game estimates show it at about 20 percent less than the 10-year average harvest. But, when the $2.25 price per pound for sockeye is factored in, the ex-vessel value of the 2014 harvest was high at $35 million — making it the second year in a row that Cook Inlet commercial harvesters have seen lower-than-average harvests with higher-than-average values. Last year, the commercial harvest in Upper Cook Inlet was valued at just more than $39 million, ranking it as the eighth-highest ex-vessel value since 1960, according to Fish and Game data. This year, commercial fishermen made just more than $35 million, coming in at the ninth-highest ex-vessel value since 1960 and the third-best in the last 10 years.

A proposed hydroproject on the Susitna River is the impetus for substantial fisheries research, but state and federal interests have disagreed on components of the first year of work. The Alaska Energy Authority held a meeting on the fisheries studies Oct. 15, and provided an opportunity for federal scientists and members of the public to comment on the work that has been done so far, and what is planned for the second year of studies.